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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25580287">Out-Voiced</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TremblingRiver/pseuds/TremblingRiver'>TremblingRiver</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Hyrule - Freeform, LoZ - Freeform, Zelda - Freeform, botw, breath of the wild - Freeform, link - Freeform, the legend of zelda - Freeform, tloz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:41:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25580287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TremblingRiver/pseuds/TremblingRiver</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of silence, Link finally speaks. Over Zelda's forgotten younger sister, who proposed an important idea that went unheard.</p><p>And when she falls, Zelda has no idea what she was trying to say. And she won't discover it until it's too late.</p><p>+++</p><p>This story is being cross-posted on Wattpad and Archive of Our Own, both under the username of TremblingRiver.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zelda/Link, Zelink - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue - Katherine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rain was harsh.</p><p>It pelted her back like small pebbles as she took steps far slower than that of her sister's and the silent knight's horses.</p><p>A bright light deceived her vision, leaving her momentarily blind. Her head buzzed with the memories of the previous night, coming in flashes that were so out of order, they were practically indiscernible.</p><p>Katherine's knees felt weak, but she kept her weight on her feet, refusing to fall.</p><p>She had ignored the unrest within her heart, the unease that had taken root and settled in her stomach, and she carried on.</p><p>She had ignored the feeling that something awful would happen, the feeling that something was going to go wrong... The knowledge that things wouldn't end well.</p><p>She didn't want something to go wrong, so she ignored the evident truth that was presented to her in a vision.</p><p>And, finally, she decided she wanted her sister to be safe, more than her own pride, and so she finally pushed aside her doubt, choosing to mention her concerns.</p><p>"Zelda, the guardians-"</p><p>She had spoken too quietly for Zelda to hear her over the rain that splashed onto the muddy earth, and she was startled when she had slipped and fallen into the muck.</p><p>"I wonder how far from the stable we are..." Link had muttered, aimlessly looking to the sky as though he somehow peer through the clouds and determine the location of the sun in the sky.</p><p>Princess Katherine; the forgotten royalty, the forgotten sister, the forgotten daughter...</p><p>The girl who bore strange secrets she told not a single soul; secrets that she mapped out in her elusive locations all around Hyrule.</p><p>Random notes, scribbled on stone and etched in the bark of trees... Written in foreign tongues and deceptively messy, for a princess.</p><p>Now, Katherine stared at her feet, heart sinking to her stomach as her unease only seemed to worsen.</p><p>She cleared her throat, attempting to speak once more. "Zeld-"</p><p>"We really should find shelter soon..." The future queen muttered, again, ignoring her younger sister as she shivered in the cold. "I'd rather not attain any illnesses, on this journey."</p><p>"You two can go on," Katherine sighed, defeated. "I'll make it... Somewhere, at some point..."</p><p>Zelda seemed not to hear the last part as she thanked her sister.</p><p>Was that all she truly heard, her selfless offer?</p><p>"Thank you, Kate. It'll make our travels much more efficient!"</p><p>Was that meant to imply that she was useless? She shook her head, shrugging it off as she had always done. "The sooner it's over with, the better."</p><p>And the two set off in the direction of the stable.</p><p><em>Really? Neither of them could have allowed me to join them on their horses</em>?</p><p>Zelda had always been quite smart, when it came to things like research... But she wasn't particularly the brightest when it came to matters of problem-solving, which had been Katherine's own speciality, before she lost her desire to perceive and resolve any sort of issue.</p><p>She squared her shoulders as she walked on, now trudging dreadfully slowly through the mud.</p><p>If the rain continued, she'd be walking all night—and that's not even acknowledging that the rain might worsen.</p><p>The princess ignored the tears streaming down her face, denying even to herself that they were due to the rain.</p><p>And more, she ignored the electric feeling that stirred in the air - a feeling that was less than pleasing.</p><p>She could feel her hair frizzing up, but she continued trudging on.</p><p>After all, what else could she do in the middle of nowhere during the rain?</p><p>She had already known that she would be bed-ridden whenever she returned to the castle, ill from lack of shelter in such weather... And sore from exhaustion, having not slept more than three hours in the past two days...</p><p>But what felt worse than that knowledge?</p><p>It was quite simple, really... It was the loneliness. The lack of a friend, of family. The lack of any presence aside from her own, in truth.</p><p>She peered to the sky, wondering the why the goddess had forsaken her.</p><p>Was her very existence some sort of a joke meant for amusement?</p><p>Her head pounded from usage of her secret power, unbeknownst to those who share her blood.</p><p>She held them in high esteem, those who were forever bound to her, but she had imagined they never felt the same over her slovenly self.</p><p>"<em>Unbecoming</em>" was something she had heard quite often. And then, of course, there was "<em>Unfit</em>."</p><p>She was never going to rule Hyrule, a fact she had long since admitted to herself. A fact that she had accepted entirely, knowing herself to only be a pawn meant to bind the royal family of Hyrule to another kingdom's royalty through marriage.</p><p>Her presence was meant to spare the future queen from a loveless life, and to spare her from many hardships, aside from the struggle to discover her power.</p><p>She had written her sorrows in her journal a number of times, her anguish and despair and loneliness...</p><p>All of it. She had somehow found the strength to write the words, the anger that she had hidden below layers of sadness.</p><p>A princess could not display her anger, for anger is undesirable.</p><p>How many times had she heard that?</p><p>She had lost track, and she had no desire to rediscover the number of times she had.</p><p>Katherine's vision had been wavering since she had begun her journey with her sister and the silent knight, and yet she had ignored it, but the pounding in her head was impossible to disregard as it continued to worsen.</p><p>And finally, she couldn't go on, collapsing silently to the mud as she lost sight of the world around her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 1 - Zelda</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The night had gone, and there was no sight of Zelda's dear younger sister.</p><p>"Kate isn't here..."</p><p>She had muttered the words over and over again as she paced the stable, disturbing the few patrons who slept in the middle of the day.</p><p>The sun wasn't quite blazing hot... After all, it had been frigid and raining just the night before.</p><p>The breeze made the smell of petrichor quite prominent, though it was quite cold and only left the princess shivering.</p><p>"You're going to catch a cold," Link had stated quietly, watching Zelda's panic.</p><p>"Kate... Oh, Kate... Please be okay..."</p><p>He gently placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder, trying to ease her mind. "She's capable of taking care of herself."</p><p>"Why didn't I just lift her up onto my horse!? What sort of idiot must I-!?"</p><p>"Zelda." His tone was stern, but his gaze was gentle. "We need to do something. Staying here won't-"</p><p>And Zelda retrieved her horse, simply leaving Link standing there. "You're right. I'm going to find Kate."</p><p>Link gave her a pensive look. And without a word spoken, Zelda knew his thoughts.</p><p>He wanted to just keep searching for the answers to the problem of the princess' unawakened power.</p><p>"...And I'm going with or without you."</p><p>Those words were all she needed to say to sway him to her side.</p><p>"Let me get Epona."</p><p>+++</p><p>The two rode their horses back down the same path they had traveled the night before, finally coming across Katherine, who was lying still in the mud, eyes screwed shut.</p><p>"K-Kate!?"</p><p>She only got a grunt of acknowledgement from the younger princess.</p><p>Zelda had Link lift her up, some mud having dried in patches on her skin, in her hair and on her clothes.</p><p>She was quite obviously miserable as Link helped her up onto Epona, keeping her in front of him so he could ensure she wouldn't fall.</p><p>+++</p><p>Katherine had fallen ill.</p><p>Very, very ill.</p><p>Her skin was ghostly pale, the color almost resembling Zelda's white steed.</p><p>According to the story she had heard from the maids taking care of her, the younger princess had collapsed from exhaustion and passed out...</p><p>Being in the rain and covered by mud all night was not, by any means, helpful, and so she came down with something...</p><p>Zelda had chosen to ignore the other rumor, though.</p><p>She was intoxicated when she passed out.</p><p>Katherine had earned herself a certain reputation and coined a particular nickname...</p><p>The broken princess, as the maids had put it.</p><p>Zelda refused to believe such a rumor. It must have been exhaustion...</p><p>Or perhaps she was simple being naïve, hoping for the words spoken to be untrue?</p><p>How well did she truly know Katherine, her own dear sister?</p><p>The thought was quite painful as it echoed through her mind, never easing...</p><p>"Father, can I visit her?" Zelda asked as he left the younger princess' room, a hardened look of fury on his face.</p><p>"No. She needs... rest."</p><p>Tears fell from Zelda's eyes as she heard her father's footsteps dissipate down the hall, and as she stared at the shut door before her.</p><p>No.</p><p>She couldn't just leave her sister... Not again.</p><p>She threw the door open, intending to simply sit at her sister's side until she woke...</p><p>But she was instead greeted by the girl sprawled upon the floor, a look of agony painted across her face.</p><p>"No!" The word was clear and loud, and it shook Zelda to her core.</p><p>No...?</p><p>Katherine's fists were furled as she attempted to grip something, anything, clawing at the floor.</p><p>"She's doing it again..." A maid had whispered from the corner, a look of pure terror on her face.</p><p>"How scary..." Another maid had responded.</p><p>Zelda placed her hand gently on Katherine's back, "Kate..." She has whispered, stunned by her sister's behavior.</p><p>"These visions tear me apart! Why won't these words be literal!?" She sobbed, her anguish clear as day.</p><p>"Visions?" Zelda asked curiously.</p><p>Katherine was on the floor beside her, but she wasn't truly there.</p><p>"Will my pain never end? Why was I cursed with such a terrible thing!? Have I sinned beyond redemption, or something of the sort!? Why has the goddess chosen to forsaken me!?"</p><p>"Kate, please, listen-"</p><p>Katherine wobbly rose to her feet, mindlessly shoving Zelda aside. "The terror in these truths..." She slowly hobbled towards the window, gingerly placing her hand on the desk.</p><p>"Kate... Kate!"</p><p>"The visions of death! The visions of despair! The vision of those I love suffering beyond wit's en-!" And she collapsed, taking a vase down with her.</p><p>It shattered upon impact with the floor, and Katherine's hand began to bleed.</p><p>The maids cleaned it up and heaved her onto her bed.</p><p>Zelda was simply forced to listen to her sister's agonized voice.</p><p>"The visions..." Katherine had muttered under her breath. "My own death... Gruesome, and... Oh, the blood...! The blood that spills and runs like rivers..." Her voice was weak as she sobbed. "A blade to my throat... And gone, I am, fighting for a breath that shall never come..."</p><p>"Your highness, you shouldn't be seeing this."</p><p>Zelda stared at her sister as one of the maids gently guided her out of the room.</p><p>A blade to my throat... And gone, I am, fighting for breath that shall never come...</p>
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